[virgil283]

The Waffle House was the second oldest restaurant in Bloomington, established only after Nick’s English Hut...It was the kind of place you could come alone and still end up talking to a dozen people. Students stumbled in between late-night bar stops, and senior citizens rolled their walkers in before doctor appointments. Cops hung out there so often, it seemed no coincidence the place was never robbed.

The legends showed up from time to time — Bobby Knight, Woody Hayes — but it was the regulars who received special treatment. Everybody knew everybody. Senior night was Tuesday. You could bring your girlfriend, your kids, your mother-in-law — everyone was family....You’d scoot into a scuffed booth, turn your well-worn mug right side up and look over the laminated menu, but you already knew what they were serving. At all hours, you could order waffles. Or strip steak. Or corn dogs. But it didn’t really matter, because going to the Waffle House wasn’t about the food.

It was about walking into a place where the fastest moving thing would be the coffee pouring into your cup. No matter what was going on in the world outside, no matter how your life was changing, the Waffle House would be there — the smell, the fake plants, the ceiling cracks — always open, always the same......"

Nice story and very well written

[thefactor]

Had some decent times at the Waffle House when I was down south for Army training. Nothing like a big plate of waffles after weeks of being in the field. Cheap, too.

[nascarnation]

Thanks for the link.

I’m sure if old Bud had just paid his peeps $15/hour “living wage” the world would be ok.

/s/s/s/s/

[Renegade]

You like Grits or Hash Browns with that?

[neal1960]

Every time I hear this song I think of the Waffle House. Love the ham and cheese omelets and coffee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9TdcuZyVI4

[Red_Devil 232]

Yes I agree it is a nice story and well written. Thanks for posting.

[Lmo56]

"Ohhhhh Nooooo !!!! Where will I go after my Saturday Night binges ???"

[left that other site]

I have wonderful memories of the Waffle house on my many motorcycle trips through Virgina, West Virginia, Maryland, and more!

You knew ahead of time where you could go, and you knew what to expect!

And they always were kind and friendly to a tired , dusty, biker.

[AlaskaErik]

When I was at Little Rock AFB in 1990 it was called “Waffle Awful” by the locals!

[Slings and Arrows]

This thread wasn't originally about THE Waffle House, but has since evolved.

FReepmail me or KoRn to get on or off the Waffle House Ping List.

[GBA]

Beautiful. Thank you for posting this!

Time travel apparently can leave a mark, as I just found out. Jessica Contrera's writing caught me completely off guard and unprepared to see all of the familiar places she showed me.

Too good not to share, I passed this gift along to friends and family. Thank you for sharing it here!

[miss marmelstein]

Just hope this isn’t a trend.

[MinuteGal]

I don't know if it's the same Waffle Houses referred to in the article, but in the olden days before the superhighways and Cracker Barrels we usually stopped at a chain Waffle House or two on the way from Illinois to Florida.

The waffles were made of flour, air and a prayer, but with a lot of syrup they were edible. The rest of the meal.....sausage, bacon, bisuits or whatever was equally non-memorable.

However, sitting at one's table watching the Waffle House's varied (cough) clientel come and go was well worth the price of admission. I knew that any mornng of the week I WOULD definitely see a table for eight filled with local old geezers all with blue jeans and their John Deere caps on, having great gab fests over hot mugs of coffee.

I still miss the days of that familiar roof looming ahead in the distance while driving the various highways throughout the middle west and south.

Leni

[csvset]

For some reason the Waffle House in Virginia Beach, VA on Indian River Rd near I-64 sucks. This place is so bad, they shouldn’t be allowed to display the Waffle House sign. Not anything like the Waffle House experience I had in Charlotte , NC.